Lost for 12 days: How a four-year-old’s puppy saved the day

This four-year-old has learned a lesson she won't soon forget, after being lost in the Siberian wilderness for twelve long days. Read on to find out how her puppy became her saviour when all hope was lost.

This column originally appeared on news.com.au. By News Corp Australia Network.

It was just another day for little Karina in Siberia’s northern summer. The weather was (relatively) nice. Her parents were busy. She wanted some fun.

On July 29, she was last seen heading towards the forest next to her remote village in Russia’s Yakutia Republic with her bounding puppy.

It was nothing unusual. All the kids played there.

At first nothing seemed wrong

Her mother thought her husband had picked her up and taken her with him on a job. But her father had, in fact, been urgently called away to help fight one of the increasingly common bushfires in the area.

The search begins…

The village set up its own search. But poor communications delayed an official response

Her father — and his fellow firefighters — abandoned their blaze and joined the hunt.

“When we learned that the child went missing, we left everything and joined the search,” firefighter Artoyom Borisov told the Komosomolskaya Pravda newspaper and relayed by RT online. “We had almost no sleep for days while searching the area. I honestly did not even hope to find her alive.”

People scoured the nearby thickets and marshes, calling the little girl’s name. They were fearful for her fate: the wild region is inhabited by bears, and deep marshy ponds are hidden by tall grass.

For four days they engaged in a desperate search. Villagers walked alongside armed men, ever watchful for roaming bears.

Then, on August 3, the message got through to Russian authorities. Despite such a passage of time, an extensive search was quickly organised. Search dogs were summoned to help the 60 men and women on the ground. Helicopters were sent into the air. Even an unmanned drone was deployed to scour the marshes with its electronic eyes.

It was a seemingly impossible task: The 30km search area was densely packed with high grass, tall trees and deep ponds.

Searchers scour thick bushland in the area Karina was last seen. Image: Supplied / News Limited.

Then her puppy returned home.

All hope seemed lost.

“We hoped that the pet was with the girl and kept her warm during the cold nights, when temperatures drop below zero,” a Russian rescue worker told local media.

But the puppy apparently ended up being the little girl’s saviour. It reportedly helped put searchers back on Karina’s trail.

She was found

Karina was spotted – exhausted and frightened – sitting in tall grass next to a river.

“Miracles do happen!” firefighter Borisov said. “I found her sitting between hillocks in the tall grass. When the child saw me, she wept quietly and reached out her hands. My heart sank, and tears filled my eyes. She was weak, pale and very skinny. The girl immediately asked me for food and drink.”

Her shoes were missing. Her clothes were torn. She had heavily scratched legs.

Karina was last reported to be in a critical – but stable – condition after being flown to the region’s central hospital.

The exhausted and frightened girl is given food and drink upon being found in tall grass not far from where the puppy appeared.Image: Supplied / News Limited.